NEWS

96% of older adults not consuming enough dairy

96% of adults over 60 years are not consuming the Department of Health recommended guidelines of three or more dairy servings per day, according to a new study.

On average, men and women had a little over 1 portion of dairy per day, with men consuming fewer total dairy portions than women.

Lead author of the study Dr Eamon Laird said: “We found it significant that intakes of dairy rich foods were generally inadequate, and particularly so in men.

"The data suggests that older adults appear to be missing out on a relatively healthy and easily available source of vitamins and micro-nutrients."

The largest study of its kind in the country found a link between daily dairy consumption and levels of a range of vitamins in older adults. Men and women both consumed more cheese than milk and continued to do so even as they aged, regardless of gender

Yoghurt makes a significant contribution to the vitamin B and vitamin D status of the older adults. Cheese was not found to affect the blood concentrations of micro-nutrients of those tested.

"We are concerned that this study shows that older Irish people are foregoing an opportunity to boost their intake of specific nutrients including B-vitamins, which can play an important role in healthy ageing," senior investigator of the study Professor Anne Molloy said.